The Ultimate Disney Parks Attraction Bracket -- Round Three, Day One

The world is a carousel of color...

Hello, friends! The day has finally arrived, as we enter the third round of the Ultimate Disney Parks Attraction bracket. We started with 256 seeds, and now we’re down to a more manageable 64 seeds, spread out across Disneyland and Walt Disney World and across attraction types.

One quick side-note before we dive in: I wasn’t planning on doing a paid post yesterday, but then I read an article in the Hollywood Reporter all about my good friend Bob Iger, and I just couldn’t resist.

“You wrote about me? Oh, Josh, you shouldn’t have!”

Well, Bob, don’t get too enthusiastic until you read what I said about you:

Anyway, over here, we’re still in a round full of four matchups per day, so let’s not waste any more time. (Though if you want to look at the stripped-down, 64-seed bracket in full, you can head here.) Let’s start the vote!

(1) Pirates of the Caribbean (DL) vs. (17) Disneyland Railroad: While I realize we’ve reached the part of the overall bracket where the decisions get tougher, this one’s only so heartbreaking to choose. The obvious and correct answer is Pirates of the Caribbean, which remains the pinnacle of theme-park design and Imagineering. I love the Disneyland Railroad and all, but…the train’s about to come off the tracks.

Pirates of the Caribbean (DL)

Disneyland Railroad

(8) Peter Pan’s Flight (WDW) vs. (9) Na’Vi River Journey: This time around, I’m mostly voting against something, and that something is Peter Pan’s Flight. I’ve spoken already about how much I don’t love the fact that there’s an exceedingly long queue for such a brief ride. Na’Vi River Journey, I’m sure, has a long enough line, but I am told the Audio-Animatronic at the end of the attraction is so lifelike that it’s worth the wait. So I vote for the Na’Vi this time.

How about you?

Peter Pan’s Flight (WDW)

Na’Vi River Journey

(4) Splash Mountain (WDW) vs. (20) Maelstrom: This one’s relatively easy for me as well. I’m voting for Splash Mountain, because while I do miss Maelstrom, one aspect of the attraction I never entirely loved was the fakeout aspect of when your boat approaches the edge of the exterior of the pavilion…only to turn around, instead of going over the edge. At least in Splash Mountain, you get the big drop.

But how do you all vote?

Splash Mountain (WDW)

Maelstrom

(5) Expedition Everest vs. (12) World of Color: If we have a tough matchup today, it’s this one. This is the kind of tough matchup that, for me, is so tough that I am glad I don’t actually vote in these things. (Outside of my commentary here, of course.) These are, on their face, very different attractions. Different coasts, different parks, different types of attractions, and so on. These are largely not comparable to each other, so I can’t effectively weigh one against the other.

Where I will lean is towards World of Color, primarily because it’s longer. Expedition Everest is enormously clever, approaching being a coaster with upside-down tracks without ever actually flipping you fully upside down. But World of Color is a half-hour show that earns its length, even if you have to stand to watch it after a long day of traversing across the parks.

But that’s just me. I don’t truly vote here. You do, so…good luck!

Expedition Everest

World of Color